Studying at the University of Vienna

On this page you will find information about studying as an exchange student at the University of Vienna:


Semester dates

Winter semester 2023/24

Start of semester

01.10.2023

Lecture period
(normally exams take place max. two weeks after the lecture period)

01.10.2023-31.01.2024


Public holidays

26.10.2023
01.11.2023

No lectures

02.11.2023

Public holiday 08.12.2023

Christmas break

18.12.2023-07.01.2024

Lecture-free period (semester break)

01.02.2024-29.02.2024

End of semester

29.02.2024

Deadline for paying the fee for the Austrian Students' Union: 31.10.2023

Summer semester 2024

Start of semester

01.03.2024

Lecture period
(normally exams take place max. two weeks after the lecture period)

01.03.2024-30.06.2024


"Rector's day" (no lectures)

12.03.2024

Easter break

25.03.2024-07.04.2024

Public holidays 01.05.2024
09.05.2024

Whitsun break

18.05.2024-20.05.2024

Public holiday

30.05.2024

Lecture-free period (summer break)

01.07.2024-30.09.2024

End of semester

30.09.2024

Deadline for paying the fee for the Austrian Students' Union: 31.03.2024

Winter semester 2024/25

Start of semester

01.10.2024

Lecture period
(normally exams take place max. two weeks after the lecture period)

01.10.2024-31.01.2025


Public holidays 26.10.2024
01.11.2024

No lectures

02.11.2024

Public holiday 08.12.2024

Christmas break

18.12.2024-06.01.2025

Lecture-free period (semester break)

01.02.2025-28.02.2025

End of semester

28.02.2025

Deadline for paying the fee for the Austrian Students' Union: 31.10.2024

Summer semester 2025

Start of semester

01.03.2025

Lecture period
(normally exams take place max. two weeks after the lecture period)

01.03.2025-30.06.2025


"Rector's day" (no lectures)

12.03.2025

Easter break

14.04.2025-27.04.2025

Public holidays 01.05.2025
29.05.2025

Whitsun break

07.06.2025-09.06.2025

Public holiday

19.06.2025

Lecture-free period (summer break)

01.07.2025-30.09.2025

End of semester

30.09.2025

Deadline for paying the fee for the Austrian Students' Union: 31.03.2025


Registration

Once we have received your nomination from your home university, you need to register online as an exchange student at the University of Vienna:

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  • Registration

    After successful nomination, you will receive an e-mail from us asking you to activate your u:account and to register in Mobility Online. If you have not received this email by 10 May (winter semester) or 10 October (summer semester), please send us an e-mail.

    In the course of registration you will register in u:space. Please only use the link provided by e-mail to register in u:space. u:space is the central access point for students regarding organisation of their studies at the University of Vienna. Once you have successfully registered in u:space, you will be able to log in to the u:space portal using your u: account login data.

    You will receive information on all the necessary steps in good time in e-mails sent to the address you provided with your nomination. Please read all the information we provide carefully and only use the links we sent in our e-mails to register – these are personalised links for incoming students.

    You will receive your admission letter (for your visa application) upon completing the registration.

    You can find an overview of the steps which exchange students need to take in order to be admitted to the University of Vienna here: Admissions procedure

  • Order your u:card

    As part of your registration in u:space you order your u:card (the student ID card of the University of Vienna). For this you must upload a passport photo and some ID (passport or identity card - also stating your citizenship).

    For your preparation here are already details concerning your passport picture:

    • The head must fill about 2/3 of the picture.
    • The background has to be single-coloured and has to provide sufficient contrast to the face.

    The photograph…

    •  must have been taken recently and in colour
    •  should be able to cleary identify you
    •  you must be the only person in the photo
    •  must be uploaded in JPEG or PNG file and have a maximum file size of 5 MB

    Please only order the u:card after having received an e-mail asking you to do so! You will receive detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do so with the request.

    Further information:
    u:card

  • Student ID number and Payment of the Students' Union fee

    Following admission to the university, you will receive an e-mail with your student ID number (by Mid-August for the winter semester or by the beginning of February for the summer semester).

    All exchange students are exempt from paying a tuition fee at the University of Vienna. Nevertheless, every student has to pay the fee for the Austrian National Union of Students, including insurance (ÖH = Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft), which is currently € 22.70 per semester (2023/24). The payment is compulsory to complete your enrolment and in order to obtain a valid student ID card.

    You will find information on payment options in your u:space account under "Financial Matters": "Students’ Union fee". Here you can also check whether your payment has been registered ("received on" willl appear next to the fee).

    One possibility is to pay the fee with a credit card (only Mastercard or Visa) via u:space. In this case the sum is credited to the University of Vienna’s account immediately.

    Alternatively, you can request a payment form at your orientation session, which you can then use to pay in cash at any post office. By using this option it usually also takes about a week for the money to be transferred to the University of Vienna’s system after the payment. We therefore recommend either paying in advance using the credit card option or online banking or planning participation at an orientation session in good time in case you would like to have a valid u:card already at the beginning of the semester.

    Please do not pay by bank transfer from any non-European bank accounts as the expenses may be very high!

    If you have an Austrian bank account, payment per EPS is also possible via u:space. In this case the payment is registered in the University of Vienna’s account immediately.

    Please note that if the payment is not received by the deadline (winter semester: 31 October; summer semester: 31 March), your enrolment cannot be finalised.

  • Validate your u:card

    Exchange students receive their u:card at the orientation session, regardless of whether they have paid the Students’ Union fee or not. However, you cannot validate the u:card until the Austrian Students' Union fee has been registered in the University of Vienna’s system.

    You will be able to purchase the semester ticket for public transport and once you have activated your u:account you may register for courses without a valid u:card. However, you will not be able to use the library for free nor get any student discounts (for example for theatre tickets) until your u:card has been validated.

    It is possible to get discounted copy cards and discounts for Mensa menus (canteen) through the
    Austrian Students' Union (ÖH) of the University of Vienna. Please contact the Students’ Union directly for information on how to take advantage of discounts using your u:card.

    Further information:
    u:card


Orientation

At the beginning of each semester, the International Office organises information meetings (“orientation sessions”)  for Non-EU Exchange students. Incoming exchange students need to register for an orientation session in order to complete their enrolment at the University of Vienna.

During the orientation you will receive your student ID card and complete your enrolment at the University.  If required, it is possible to confirm a date of arrival in Vienna provided it is not more than five days prior to the orientation. We therefore recommend that you choose an orientation session as close as possible to your date of arrival. You will also receive important information about living and studying in Vienna during the orientation (for example, course registration, public transport, contact persons, etc.). 

In order to confirm your registration at the University of Vienna and to issue your student ID card, personal participation in the orientation session is compulsory. Please also bring your passport with you.

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  • Dates in summer semester 2024

    The orientations for the summer semester 2024 will take place in person at the International Office. We will send you an email with further information on the content and registration in January. You can choose from the following dates:

    Friday, 2 February, 10 am - 11.30 am

    Wednesday, 14 February, 10 am - 11.30 am

    Wednesday, 14 February, 1.30 pm -3 pm

    Thursday, 22 February, 10 am - 11.30 am

    Thursday, 29 February, 11 am - 12.30 pm

    Friday, 1 March, 1 pm -2.30 pm


Course Selection / Exams

Students at the University of Vienna create their own timetables for each semester and are accustomed to working independently.

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  • Course types

    There are two different types of courses at the University of Vienna:

    • Courses with a final exam (“nicht-prüfungsimmanenten Lehrveranstaltungen”), e.g lectures (“Vorlesungen”, VO), are courses where regular attendance is not mandatory. There is usually a written exam at the end of the semester in order to obtain a grade.
    • Courses with continuous assessment (“Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltungen”), e.g. training courses (“Übungen”, UE), proseminars (“Proseminare”, PS) and seminars (SE), are courses with compulsory and regular attendance. Assessment criteria are active course participation, presentations, midterm-tests, papers and written and/or oral end-term tests.

    As an exchange student you do not have to take courses from the STEOP module (“Studieneingangs- und Orientierungsphase”). Indeed, we normally recommend that you do not take any of these courses during your stay.  

    Students who have been nominated for the bachelor programme may usually also attend courses from the master's programme provided they have sufficient knowledge on the subject. 

  • Course catalogue (u:find) – How to find courses in a field of study
    • The course catalogue (or course directory) u:find contains all courses offered at the University of Vienna. 
    • It is available online from August or January for the forthcoming semester.
    • It will, however, still be updated and new courses can still be added until the beginning of the semester. If you need to know what kind of courses are available in your field of study before the new course catalogue is published, e.g. for your home university, please use the one from the previous winter or summer semester, which will give you an idea of the courses on offer. Please keep in mind, however, that not all courses are offered every year/semester.
    • Courses which are taught in a language other than German are marked with a blue button indicating the language of instruction.
    • You can find your field of study in the directorates of studies (“Studienprogrammleitungen”, SPL). Sometimes one directorate of studies (SPL) lists several fields of study (e.g. SPL 4 Business, Economics and Statistics, which lists Business Administration, International Business Administration, Statistics and Economics as fields of study). 
    • More detailed information on studying and the individual courses is available directly from the mobility coordinators at the individual departments.

    Further tips on how to use u:find.

     

     

Registration and De-Registration from courses

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  • Course registration

    The deadlines for course registration depend on your field of study and are usually listed in the course catalogue u:find in the individual course details. Registration for courses in the winter semester usually starts in the beginning of September; registration for courses in the summer semester in the beginning of February.

    The first-come-first-served principle does not apply during the course registration periods. Please note that it is mandatory to register for a course, even if you are not yet sure that you will eventually take it. It is not possible to attend a course without prior registration by the respective deadline, nor is it possible to be registered by the course instructor after the deadline.

    In most cases, course registration is done online via u:space. In some cases, course registration must take place via e-mail or in person. You will find the relevant information in the course directory.

    --> General information incl. registration deadlines

    --> Additional information on how to register for courses via u:space

  • Mandatory attendance at the first course session

    Please note that in the case of courses with continuous assessment (UE, PS, SE), course registration itself does not guarantee a spot in the course: if you do not attend the first session of the course without prior notification, you will be de-registered, and your spot will be given to someone on the waiting list.

    Therefore contact the course instructor IN ADVANCE if you are not able to attend the first class, otherwise you will lose your spot even though you registered correctly.

  • De-registration from courses

    Should you change your mind during the semester and decide not to attend a course after all, you will have to de-register from the course. As a rule, de-registration from courses will be possible in u:space within the first two weeks after the course has started.


    Students who do not de-register from a course in time will most likely receive a negative grade (5).

Exams

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  • Online registration for lecture exams

    Registration for exams is conducted via u:space and u:find. Only students who have registered for exams in due time are allowed to sit them.

  • De-registration from exams

    Should you decide not to take an exam after you have registered for it, you have to de-register. Students who are registered for an exam and do not show up without prior notice to the teacher will not be allowed to take part in the next sitting. 

  • Grading system and ECTS

    Austrian grading system

    1    = excellent (outstanding performance)

    2    = good (generally good, but with some errors)

    3    = satisfactory (generally sound work with a number of substantial errors)

    4    = sufficient (performance meets the minimum criteria)

    5    = failed (substantial improvement necessary; requirement of further work)

    ECTS

    At the University of Vienna, the workload of an individual course is measured in ECTS credits. In Austria the full workload for students comprises 30 ECTS per semester.

    Incoming students are expected to take at least 16 ECTS during their stay at the University of Vienna.

    The home university is in charge of the approval of courses. Please contact your home university directly if you have questions regarding this.


German Course

Please note that there are no German language courses offered at the department of German Philology.

If you wish to improve your German language skills in preparation for your stay or during the semester, you can register for a German language course at the Language Center of the University of Vienna (“Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien”) and obtain ECTS credits if you complete it successfully. They regularly offer the following Courses:

  • Preparatory intensive courses in September and February (available also online)
  • Trimester Courses
  • Semester Courses

Information regarding the range of language courses on offer, assessment for placement on courses and how to register is available on the Language Center of the University of Vienna’s Homepage.

German courses are not listed in your transcript of records, but you will receive a certificate from the Language Center upon successfully completing a course. Please check with your home university whether a standard version of the Language Center certificate in German will suffice. If this version is not acceptable, you can present your German certificate to the Language Center Office to obtain a version in English.

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  • Discounts for incoming students

    Please note that the course fee must be paid in full when you register for the course. You will be refunded the discount subsequently when you present confirmation of your exchange student status to the Language Center.

    By presenting their Certificate of Arrival, incoming students can obtain a discount of 20% on preparatory intensive courses in February and September, on summer language courses and on the trimester course. There is no reduction for German semester courses.

    For the preparatory intensive courses (in September and February), incoming students who participate regularly and complete the course successfully receive a further rebate from the International Office so that they only have to pay a contribution of €130 (academic year 2023/24) themselves. The rebate is available both for offline and online courses. As this is a preparatory course, you can also only be awarded this rebate if the course is completed before you begin your studies at the University of Vienna. Students who spend a full academic year studying here can thus only claim a rebate for the September intensive course.

    Please note that you can only apply for this rebate until 15 October (September course) or 15 March (February course) and that your application must be made directly to the Language Center of the University of Vienna.

    Course books are not included in the course fee.

    Incoming students get a discount of 25% on the regular price of language courses for languages other than German.


Mobility Coordinators

At the University of Vienna, the departments have their own mobility coordinators, who are responsible for all subject-specific matters. Please refer to your mobility coordinator for questions regarding:

  • Courses
  • Course Registration
  • Learning Agreement
  • Courses taught in English
  • Information on exams for the particular Department

Mobility coordinators also sign confirmations of attendance which contain subject-specific details (e.g. the language of instruction, the last exam date) and your Learning Agreement as the "Responsible Person".

Information about your mobility coordinator  you receive on request in the International Office.